Bbc news country profiles (2004) The media in the uk
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- Television BBC TV - operates BBC1 , BBC2
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- Television Rai - public broadcaster, stations include Rai Uno , Rai Due , Rai Tre
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| BBC NEWS - Country profiles (2004)
The media in the UK (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/country_profiles/1038758.stm) The UK has a strong tradition of public-service broadcasting and an international reputation for creative programme-making. The fledgling BBC began daily radio broadcasts in 1922 and quickly came to play a pivotal role in national life. The Empire Service - the forerunner of the BBC World Service - established a reputation worldwide. The BBC is funded by a licence fee, which all households with a TV set must pay. The BBC Broadcasting House is now a London landmark. Commercial TV began in 1955 with the launch of ITV. Commercial radio was introduced in the 1970s, although ship-based pirate radio stations flourished in the 1960s before being outlawed. Hundreds of privately-owned radio and TV stations now compete with the BBC for listeners and viewers. Home-grown soap operas have long topped the TV ratings, and British viewers keenly follow the ups and downs of life in east London's Albert Square, the setting for the BBC's EastEnders, and Coronation Street - ITV's soap about northern-English working-class life (Manchester). Programmes which catapult ordinary people into the public eye - known as reality TV - are enjoying a wave of popularity. The UK's main TV networks now face strong competition from digital satellite and cable TV, which offer scores of channels. Digital terrestrial TV carries a smaller number of free-to-view channels. Digital radio (DAB) has had a slower start, but the BBC and commercial operators provide digital-only radio services. The British media are free and able to report on all aspects of British life. The variety of publications on sale reflects the full spectrum of political opinion, as well as the British public's voracious appetite for newspapers. In 2004 the BBC was plunged into crisis over the outcome of a judge's inquiry into the suicide of a scientist involved in a row over a BBC radio report. The item claimed that the government had embellished its case for war in Iraq. The judge, Lord Hutton, exonerated the government, said the most serious claims in the BBC report were unfounded and reached damaging conclusions about BBC processes.
Daily Telegraph - broadsheet Financial Times - daily business broadsheet The Guardian - daily broadsheet The Independent - daily broadsheet The Times - daily broadsheet The Sun - daily tabloid The Mirror - daily tabloid The Scotsman - daily broadsheet The Daily Mail - tabloid The Daily Express - daily tabloid Television BBC TV - operates BBC1, BBC2 and digital services including BBC News 24 BBC World - commercially-funded international news channel ITV - major commercial network, organised around regional franchises Channel 4 - national commercial station Five - national entertainment-based channel Independent Television News (ITN) - supplier of news to ITV, Channel 4, Five British Sky Broadcasting (BSkyB) - operator of digital satellite TV platform and provider of film, entertainment channels and rolling news channel Sky News Radio BBC Radio - national services include new-music station Radio 1, adult music station Radio 2, cultural network Radio 3, flagship speech station Radio 4 and news and sport station Five Live BBC Radio Scotland BBC Radio nan Gaidheal - Gaelic-language station for Scotland BBC Radio Ulster - for Northern Ireland BBC Radio Wales BBC Radio Cymru - Welsh-language BBC Asian Network - for Asian communities in the UK BBC World Service - major international broadcaster, heard worldwide via shortwave and increasingly on FM relays, programmes in more than 40 languages Virgin Radio - national commercial pop and rock station Talk Sport - national commercial sports station Classic FM - national commercial classical music station News Agencies The Press Association Reuters The media in the US http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/country_profiles/1217752.stm The US has the most highly-developed mass media in the world. American-made dramas, comedies, soap operas, animations, music videos and films have a global audience and are part of the staple fare of broadcasters worldwide. Television is America's most popular medium. Three major networks - ABC, CBS and NBC - dominated the scene for decades until the mass take-up of cable and satellite and the arrival of the Fox network. Mainstream American TV is slick, fast-moving and awash with advertising. Audience ratings and advertising revenues spell life or death for shows; networks may axe lame ducks after just one season. There are around 10,000 commercial radio stations in the US. In urban areas there are stations to satisfy almost every musical taste, language preference and world-view. News, sports and talk stations predominate on the mediumwave (AM) dial, with music on the FM band. Freedom of expression in the US is guaranteed by the constitution, and some stations give airtime to extreme hues of political - often right-wing - and religious thinking. Elsewhere, outspoken radio "shock jocks" push at the boundaries of taste. American public broadcasting is partly government-funded, but also supported by private grants. Many universities and colleges operate broadcasting outlets. National Public Radio - with more than 600 member stations - offers a more highbrow mix of news, debate and music without advertising. Public TV services operated by PBS have a mission to provide "quality" and educational programming. The government sponsors a range of TV and radio stations aimed at audiences outside the US. Lately, radio services for audiences in the former Soviet bloc have been cut back, while stations targeting audiences in the Middle East and Asia have been launched. There are more than 1,500 daily newspapers in the US, most of them with a local or regional readership. The US is the home of the internet, but the number of new online connections is slowing. By early 2002 around 60% of Americans were estimated to be online. The press USA Today - national daily Wall Street Journal - business daily Christian Science Monitor - church-owned daily Los Angeles Times - daily Washington Post - daily Boston Globe - daily New York Post - daily New York Times - daily Philadelphia Inquirer - daily Baltimore Sun - daily Newsweek - news weekly Time - news weekly Television ABC - major commercial network CBS - major commercial network NBC - major commercial network Fox - major commercial network CNN - pioneer of 24-hour rolling TV news, operates domestic and international streams MTV - pioneer of music television HBO (Home Box Office) - pay-TV network; originator of some of American TV's most critically-acclaimed programmes PBS (Public Broadcasting Service) - public TV, serves some 350 non-commercial member stations Radio NPR (National Public Radio) - non-commercial network of member stations; news, information and cultural programmes Clear Channel - America's largest commercial radio operator, owns more than 1,200 stations Infinity - major commercial operator with some 180 stations in major markets ABC Radio Networks - operates flagship stations coast-to-coast External broadcasting Voice of America - government-funded, programmes for global audiences in many languages Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty - government-funded, targets eastern Europe, former Soviet Union and the Caucasus in local languages Radio Free Asia - government funded, targets China, North Korea and southeast Asia Al-Hurra - government-funded, satellite TV for Middle East Radio Sawa - government-funded, Arabic-language radio for Middle East Radio Farda - government-funded, Persian-language radio Radio and TV Marti - government-funded services for Cuba News agencies Associated Press Bloomberg Business News UPI The media in Italy http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/world/europe/country_profiles/1065345.stm Italy's heady blend of politics and media has made headlines inside and outside the country, with watchdogs and some politicians pointing to Prime Minister Berlusconi's influence over both public and private broadcasting. The public broadcaster, Rai, has traditionally been subject to political influence, and Berlusconi's Mediaset empire operates Italy's top private TV stations. Between them, Rai and Mediaset effectively control Italy's TV market and are a potentially powerful political tool. The opposition says airtime given by Rai and Mediaset to its representatives has declined. The Italian press is highly-regionalised. Milan in particular is home to a large number of dailies and news magazines. Most newspapers are privately-owned, often linked to a political party or run by a large media group. Rupert Murdoch's News Corp secured a virtual monopoly of the Italian pay-TV sector when it launched Sky Italia in July 2003. The service was created through the merger of two existing pay-TV services - Stream and Telepiu. Around 2,500 commercial radio stations broadcast in Italy. A few of them have national coverage; most are music-based. They share the airwaves with public broadcaster Rai's radio stations. The press Corriere della Sera - major daily La Repubblica - daily, owned by L'Espresso group Il Messaggero - Rome-based daily La Stampa - daily, owned by Fiat group Il Sole 24 Ore - financial daily Television Rai - public broadcaster, stations include Rai Uno, Rai Due, Rai Tre, rolling news channel Rai News 24 and a number of cable/satellite services Mediaset - Italy's foremost private TV broadcaster, operates Italia 1, Rete 4 and Canale 5 Radio Rai - public broadcaster, stations include flagship national network Radio 1, entertainment-based Radio 2, cultural station Radio 3 and parliamentary station GR Parlamento Radio 24 - commercial network, news and business Radio 101 - commercial network, pop music Radio Italia - commercial network, Italian pop music News agency ANSA Download 41.46 Kb. Share with your friends:
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